Stoke City winger Thibaud Verlinden on why he moved to Bolton

The Belgian winger exploded on to the scene at Rotherham United on Saturday, scoring four minutes into his debut for the club.

Sadly, his first professional strike did not count towards a positive result, but the 20-year-old on loan from Stoke City is confident he can play a major part in getting Bolton back on track before he returns to the Potteries in January.

“I couldn’t imagine a better way to start but I’d rather us have won the game than me score a goal,” he told The Bolton News.

“If we stick together, I am sure that result will come. We have some good players, there is a good manager here and even though we were disappointed about the game at Rotherham, the guys were ready at the training ground to push on.

“I am looking forward to every moment of my time here. I don’t want to waste my opportunity.”

That Verlinden was sent out on loan came as a surprise to some Stoke fans, who were looking forward to seeing the Belgium youth international progress in the Potteries ranks.

He had already featured at first team level several times at the back end of last season and played in the Potters’ 3-1 defeat at Charlton Athletic last month.

The man himself was happy to go with the flow – but he believes if he can make a success of his time at Bolton, more opportunities at Championship level will follow.

“I had a couple of chats with Nathan Jones and in the end it was a club decision for me to come out on loan, it really was,” he said. “I needed to play games more regularly and when Bolton offered that chance I was happy to come.

“It is not easy at Stoke because there is a big group there, it is a very big club with talented players, but from my view it is important that I play.

“I will try and make sure that Bolton get the very best of me when I am here.”

Although Verlinden has had little experience of English football outside Stoke’s remit thus far in his career, he knows enough about his new surroundings to be confident he can be a success.

“The level of football does not worry me. I played in the Checkatrade Trophy against clubs in League One so I know what I can expect. It might be different playing week-in, week-out, but I think I will enjoy it.”

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